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Ialdabaoth -> RE: how do you not worry all the time? (7/2/2009 1:40:47 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: jeninvegas
so, how do you train yourself not to worry all the time? it's not so much anxiety but the racing of mind. the mind won't stop thinking and (over) analyzing things that are probably aren't even there to analyze at all. little things and situations gets the mind running. i can't let things be and i can't just go with a situation that i know isn't harmful without worrying about every little freakin' details...
Have you tried little calming mantras? I've found the Bene Geserit mantra against fear works wonders:
"I shall not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn my inner eye to view its path.
Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing.
Only I shall remain."
Repeating that over and over in your head when you're worried has a wonderful way of drowning out whatever your brain is trying to worry about.
Also, here's a little heuristic I like to follow:
1) Can I do something about this (whatever I'm worrying about)?
A) If YES, branch to 2.
B) If NO, branch to 5.
C) If MAYBE, branch to 8.
2) I have effect on the situation. Is it time-critical that I affect the situation immediately? (i.e., is there a "window of opportunity" that will pass if I don't act quickly?)
A) If YES, branch to 3.
B) If NO, branch to 8.
3) It doesn't matter if what I'm about to do is the most effective thing to do; something needs to be done, and I'm in a position to do it. Let's get it done, and later, when we have the luxury of more time, we can re-examine and learn lessons for handling things more efficiently next time.
4) While working, did we make a mess that needs to be cleaned up, or leave any dangling/unresolved issues?
A) If YES, branch back to 1.
B) If NO, branch to 5.
C) If MAYBE, branch to 8.
5) Well, look at that. We don't have anything positive to contribute to the situation. Time to move on! Relax; make yourself a drink. Go for a walk. Invite some friends over for homemade cheesecake. Isn't life nice?
6) Are we still worrying about things we don't need to fix or can't control anyways? Why?
7) While we've been tracing back all the reasons why we're worrying about things we can't control, have we found something we CAN control?
A) If YES, branch back to 1.
B) If NO, branch back to 5.
C) if MAYBE, branch back to 8.
8) Huh. We're not quite sure what's going on. We need more data!
9) Guess what? "Needing more data" is a thing we can do something about! Branch back to 1!
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